They were gone.
No, they didn't walk away, leaving us all behind to play this torturous game. They were dead. They had families, friends, lovers. They didn't get a chance to say goodbye. And they all died brutally.
We were back in the rooms we started in, all numb and quiet from what we had just witnessed. Sang-woo, Gi-hun, Ali, and I all sat down close together, our heads down, just as silent as the rest. My body was tense and tears still threatened to pour from my eyes. Every time I blinked, memories from the past game came flooding back, causing the fear to resurface in my body.
"Sang-woo." Gi-hun whispered, causing my ears to ring at the sound of a slight sound "Thanks."
Sang-woo looked up at Gi-hun, not saying anything. Not responding at all. Gi-hun then turned to Ali.
"Thank you. You both saved my life."
"I'm glad you're alive" Ali smiled slightly, attempting to raise our spirits.
Before anyone could say anything else, a buzzing sound echoed throughout the room and the doors opened, letting nine masked men inside the room. Everyone rushed to stand up as the lights turned on, hoping to be stood up before the men stopped moving. Many people shied away from the door, hoping to be spared.
As I stood, my whole body shook, making it hard to stay standing and still.
"Congratulations for making it through the first game. Here are the results of the first game" The man with the square on his mask spoke before the screen above his head began to make noise.
Our attention was drawn away from the masked men, towards the screen. We watched as the numbers began to change and the sound mimicked something similar to a slot machine. The screen finally froze, the number on the screen remaining at 201.
"Out of 457 players, 256 players have been eliminated. 201 players have completed the first game."
People began muttering things amongst each other. Their faces were scared and concerned.
"Sir! Forgive me!" A lady ran out from the crowd, crying out to the masked men "I'll pay off my debts no matter what. I'll pay back at all costs." she drops to her knees, her hands pressed together.
"Please, sir. I have... a child" she continued, not afraid to cry in front of all these people "I haven't even named my baby yet, so I couldn't register the baby's birth. Please let me leave!"
Another woman emerged from the crowd "Sir, please forgive me. Please. Please spare my life. I'll find a way to pay my debts off."
A third woman crawled out from the crowd "I want to stop here. Please let me go."
One after another people from the first two rows began to kneel, begging for their lives to be spared. Begging to go home. Crying.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding. We are not here to harm you or collect your debts." The square man spoke again "Let me remind you. We are presenting you with an opportunity."
"An opportunity?" a man with the number '119' on his back spoke up "You call this an opportunity? You make us play children's games and then kill us! How is this an opportunity?"
Another man with '271' spoke up "We may be in debt, but that doesn't mean we deserve to die."
"This is just a game." the masked man spoke again, emotion lacking from his voice.
"You killed all those people! And you call this a game?" '369' cried.
"They were simply eliminated for breaking the rules of the game. As long as you follow the rules, you will safely exist in this place with the promised prize money."
"Prize money or no prize money, I don't care." Someone else from the crowd spoke up, expressing their concerns to the masked men "Just please let me out!"
My knees felt weak before anyone else spoke, causing me to fall to the ground. Gi-hun turned around to look at me, remorse filling his eyes as he stepped towards me, lifting me and bracing me against a bed.
"Clause one of the consent form: A player is not allowed to voluntarily quit the games." The square man stated.
"You think you'll get away with all of this? The police will barge in any minute, looking for the people reported missing." '119' spoke again, the crowd nodding their heads and agreeing with his words.
People continued yelling, trying to convince the masked men to let us go. The square man pulled out a revolver, swiftly, and shot a single shot into the air. Everyone dropped to the floor in fear, cries from people around as they fell aimlessly. The masked men with the triangles pulled out machine guns and pointed them towards us in sync.
"Clause two of the consent form: A player who refuses to play will be eliminated." The square man spoke as he pulled the revolver again.
"Clause three of the consent form: The game may be terminated upon a majority vote." Sang-woo stood up, walking towards the front of the group. "Is that correct?"
There was a slight moment of silence before the square man nodded his head "That is correct."
"Then let us take a vote. If the majority wishes to quit, you will have to let us go."
"As you wish, we will take a vote on whether or not to terminate the games. But before we vote, we will reveal the prize amount from the first game." The square man pressed a button and the lights dimmed once again before the giant piggy bank from before lowered from the ceiling. Money began dropping into the piggy bank quickly, stopping once the bottom was covered.
"The number of players eliminated in the first game, 256. Allocated prize money for each player, 100 million won. Therefore, a current total of 25.6 billion won has been accumulated into the piggy bank. If you quit the games now, the 35.6 billion won will be sent to the families of the eliminated players, 100 million each. However, all of you will go home empty-handed."
"Excuse me." The lady from before, '212', raised her hand, turning towards the masked men. "If we make it through all six games, how much do we get?"
"There are 457 players. So the total is 45.7 billion won. We will begin the vote."
⎯⎯⎯⎯
The room was divided into two, a piece of white tape separating us from the other side of the room.
"You can see two buttons in front of you. If you wish to continue, press the green button with an O. If you wish to cease, press the red button with an X. Once you finish voting, move to the other side of the white line. The vote will be held in reverse of the number on your chests. Player 257, please place the first vote."
I look down towards my chest, the number '257' carefully sewn onto the jumpsuits jacket. My knees quivered once more before I felt a slight nudge against my back. I turned to see multiple men and women looking at me with big, hopeful eyes. I started walking towards the box at the front of the room. As the square man had said, there were two buttons; a red one and a green one. I stood there, staring at the buttons, confused as to which one I should choose.
Red or green?
Yes or no?
My head was pounding and my body was numb. If I was to go home, I would just continue to be hurt and continue to protect my siblings. It would just include more pain and suffering. Life out there isn't any better than the life in here.
But if I was to stay here, I could be killed. And if I was dead, then I wouldn't be able to help my siblings. They would live a long life of being stricken for dropping crumbs from the table. They would be starved for not moving fast enough. They would have to live the life I have had to.
This was no longer a question of if I wanted to live or not. It was a question of could my siblings survive without me or not.
RED
It makes sense, press the red button. Save myself. Go back home and protect my siblings. Help them grow up to be something I will never have the chance to be. But if I press red, I will leave with no money and no proper way to help them.
I stare at the buttons a few seconds more before my hand slides over the green button. A soft click emerged as I pressed. A green light glowing underneath my hand. A small ding echoing in the room and the number one under the O section on the screen.
I stepped back slowly. My body is still numb.
"Player 456, please cast your vote." the square man's voice was just as cold as ever, but it now had an even more chilling effect to it.
Gi-hun walked up towards the pedestal, not taking his eyes off me. He stood there for a few seconds before pressing the red button, causing a 1 to appear on the screen, underneath the X.
More and more people began walking up towards the pedestal, pressing their desired buttons and standing on the other side of the tape, where Gi-hun and I stood.
"Why?" Gi-hun whispered
"Life's worse out there than it is in here. At least if something goes wrong here, I just die. I don't have to live with the torment and the injuries." I turn my head back towards the front of the room.
I watched as the numbers added up on the board, the X's and O's balancing out every so often. The board was currently at 50-50.
"Player 218" the square man called as Sang-woo walked up towards the pedestal. Just like the rest, Sang-woo stood there for a few moments, debating his choices, before finally choosing green.
I heard a sharp inhale from beside me as Gi-hun watched the numbers on the O side growing larger than the X side, although it was only by one vote.
Everyone was silent. People kept going up and pressing their buttons, without saying a word.
"Have you all gone insane? You want this madness to continue?" 119 yelled, his voice claiming everyone's attention.
"So what happens if we leave? Is anything different out there? It's hell out there anyway." 212 responded, annoyance in her voice.
"We're all screwed either way. We're all going to die one day. Might as well die for a reason." I mutter, not expecting anyone to hear.
"Some of us don't want to die, you idiot." I heard someone say, but I didn't bother to look up.
"Tell me, where are you going to go if we get to leave? Do you have a home to go back to? And what are you going to do if we leave? Some of you are going to go back to running from the police, others may go back to being beaten up due to their debts or other things. So tell me, what does the world out there actually have to offer for you? If we leave, the dead win. We won! We are the ones who survived the game. We are the ones still fighting for our lives. But they get the money because we're all too weak to continue a few games?" I felt the tip of a gun on the back of my neck.
"We will no longer condone any acts that impede this democratic process. Now, let's resume the voting." the square man said, causing the gun to drop away from my neck.
No one spoke after this. Everyone went back to pressing the buttons and standing in the crowd on the left side of the white line. We all watched as the numbers grew higher. Before we knew it, the number was tied. 100-100. I looked over to where we all started to find one person left.
"Now, this is the last voter. Player 1." The square man spoke, causing everyone to look at the same place I was. The only person left was the old man that Gi-hun had talked about when we first met.
We watched as he walked towards the pedestal, not concerning himself with the glances he was getting from everyone else.
"A brain tumour." I looked up toward Gi-hun as he muttered this.
'What are you talking about?"
"He said he has a brain tumour, that's why he couldn't remember his name."
I looked at Gi-hun's face, it was the same look as when we were playing Red Light, Green Light.
"If you wish to continue, press O. If you wish to cease, press X." the square man told him.
The old man looked up at the screen above the masked men's heads before looking back at the buttons. A few moments passed, anxiety bubbling in everyone. The old man moved his hand slowly, moving towards a button. As he pressed it, some people cheered whilst others stayed quiet. The screen above showed his decision.
X - O
101 - 100
He chose for us to go home...
⎯⎯⎯⎯
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